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Female engineering students: should there be more? Part I

"I believe females should be 51% of engineering students (the same proportion as females in the state)" a dean of engineering told us recently. He reflects the thinking of most people in education. And there is now a national movement to boost female engineering enrollments to half. But what does the evidence indicate? Some problems with this position:1. It is based on "belief" and not evidence and science. 2. Most people with this position do not believe there is anything different neurologically and hormonally between women and men that affects their learning. 3. If wrong, it will lead to even greater shortages of skilled workers, a shortage that will jeopardize our safety, lower our standard of living, and make your retirement plan worth less. The basis for the "belief" is that women, though now successful in other previously-male-dominated professions, have some how been raised wrongly. It's been 30 years since parents of girls have been almost universally feminist, since teachers have been almost universally feminist, and yet somehow these feminist parents and teachers have been chauvinists with girls. Go figure. Can women be half of all engineering students? Yes, it's easy. Cheat. Raise GPA requirements, lower test score requirements, and grade only on female friendly assessments like essays and oral reports. Coming up: two other views. But go ahead and comment now!

Comments

like all humans all over the world , we desire Love , it is what makes us complete . Some are even willing to overlook Truth in order to attain Love .

In Islam , you don't have to make any sacrifices , you can have both Truth and Love in God together .

First we must know what True Love is . True Love is a two way street . This means we take Love as well as we give Love .

For example , Loving Jesus:

Muslims love Jesus more than Christians according to the Meaning of True Love . This is because if you Love someone , you would care for them .

There is some doubt within the Gospel as to whether or not Jesus died on the cross , with some evidence from scholars that perhaps Jesus did not die .

This should make the Christians happy that Jesus was Saved instead of insisting he was put through a horrifying long painful death .

The Christians don't have Love with God , but rather Greed towards God . If the Christians had True Love with God , than they would be Happy to learn Jesus was not killed but rather it appeared as if he was killed , similar to Jesus appearing to be a unknown gardener to Mary in the Cave John 20:15

Instead , the Christians ventilate that Jesus suffered and bled and was filled with pain and anguish .

Is it Love to insist this happened to someone you love even though some evidence suggests it may not have happened ? Of course not , this is the farthest thing from Love .

If someone you Love was kidnapped , and there was some evidence that the one you love is safe , would you insist they are not safe ?

To Love is to Share , another way Muslims Love Jesus more than the Christians is that we do not pass our sins to Jesus , we take responsibility for our own sins . We believe Jesus was sent by God to assist Israel return to the Straight path , Jesus never claimed he was sent to ((consume everyone's sins)), but instead
to preach (which he did for over 30 years before returning to God) the good news of Peace .

If you Love your neighbor , would you take your garbage and put it at your neighbors door ? Absolutely not , you would take responsibility for your own garbage .

Christians in the scope of the big picture , are uncaring of Jesus , a bully to Jesus .

This is not to suggest that our Creator, the Father of us all , is un-giving , for the fact is , that God does give Love .

The Webster Dictionary meaning of the word "Love" is:

"passionate, warm attachment, affectionate"

The Holy Qur'an lists these attributes describing God , along with much more , for example , in the Holy Qur'an , our Creator is addressed as:

"Compassionate , Merciful , the Helper , the Nourisher , the Generous , the Guide , the Loving (al-Wadud in Arabic often translated into English as "the Kind One"), the Raiser of the Dead , the Patient"

Thus showing how the God of Islam which is the same God of Abraham , Moses and Jesus , is in fact a God of Love .

Besides God being Defined as Love in the Holy Qur'an , we also see quotes of how God Gives us Love in the Qur'an:

"... God loves the doers of justice." Holy Qur'an 60:8

"... God loves those who are fair (and just). " Holy Qur'an 49.009

" On those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, will (Allah) Most Gracious bestow love. " Holy Qur'an 19:96

"It may be that God will ordain love between you and those of them with whom ye are at enmity. Allah is Mighty, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. " Holy Qur'an 60:7

" And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect. "
Holy Qur'an 30:21

"...for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided. " Holy Qur'an 3:103

" And He is the Forgiving, the Loving, " Holy Qur'an 85:14

The Qur'an reveals this false assertion that God only loves the Jews or the Christians:

"And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of God and His beloved ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you for your faults? Nay, you are mortals from among those whom He has created, He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases; and God's is the kingdom of the heavens
and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual coming." Holy Qur'an 5:18

This is not a attack on either Faith , it only rebukes the claims by Jews who say 'only the children of Israel are the chosen people' or the Christians who say 'all non-Christians are demons'

This verse is only explaining that we are all from God and God loves us all .

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. " Holy Qur'an 5:69

In conclusion, there are many more examples but this is to demonstrate that True Love is both equally given as well as taken . Let us love each other , stand together as partners , praying to God and enjoying the Love and guidance manifested in the Holy Qur'an.

It's interesting that I passed with flying colors and I did not cheat, nor did they lower the evaluation standards, nor did they change the exam formats. The reason that women don't stay in engineering is because the men do not want them there. Then they actually feel torn when acting like asses that were raised in a barn. They feel like they are not free to be unprofessional and yet bonded in 'brotherhood'. They should get over it. It's very sad really. I always thought there would be more professionalism than that in a profession. But I have stuck around and survived through it. I think it is finally coming around although at least one member of senior management has given up after seeing that I did not flee like the rest. By the way, I have spatial skills. Wow, amazing. Was it taught? Was it inate? Who cares?

"The basis for the "belief" is that women, though now successful in other previously-male-dominated professions, have some how been raised wrongly. It's been 30 years since parents of girls have been almost universally feminist, since teachers have been almost universally feminist, and yet somehow these feminist parents and teachers have been chauvinists with girls. Go figure."

Parents, teachers, and society generally have not been, and are still not, universally feminist. Although guidance counselors may not still explicitly note that as a woman, engineering may not be a good choice, there are implicit and unexplained signals that still point to the traditionally-female professions--teaching, nursing, etc. This is just one single factor that weighs into the reason that this country has such dismal numbers of women in the tech professions. However, it is still one important factor that needs ironed out.

Moreover, to obtain numbers that equalize the gender divide in engineering would not require cheating or lowering test score requirements, as the author asserts. If more women were actively encouraged and helped to establish an interest in going into engineering (per my earlier comments), there could easily be far greater numbers of female applicants---many with far better "qualifications" (test scores, grades, etc.) than many of the males that are accepted into these programs today.

I think it's interesting that educators see a need to lift up female students. I'm a parent of two girls and have lots of friends with kids, too. I can't think of a single time anyone has complained to me about their daughters having trouble in school - but most of those with sons have at least something that's going wrong at school most of the time.

On second thought, my friend's Kindergarten-age daughter did get in some trouble for giving the nickname "cupcake" to a boy she liked.